Qantas boss Alan Joyce is still enthusiastic about establishing a premium airline in the Asian market, declaring Singapore as a possible base for operations.

In an interview with The Australian, the Qantas chief said the airline was currently in talks with the Singapore government regarding the possibility of commissioning a premium service in the future.

“We work with them on a range of issues and one of them is keeping the door open to the possibility of a premium airline,” Mr Joyce said.

“We do believe that for the long-term success of Qantas it needs to participate in the premium end of the market."

Lingering issues of air traffic rights were thought to have dampened plans for the proposed new service but Qantas views the service as a necessity for its future business portfolio.

“Qantas could probably live with it for the next few years but I'm committed to (the idea) that in the future we have to address it, and the way to address it is to be involved in a premium airline in Asia," he added.

"We're going to actively work on how we do that."

Qantas is determined to focus on growing its share of the Asian region and although a premium service may not be established immediately, the airline has other stakes in the expanding Asian marketplace.

New low-cost carrier Jetstar Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Qantas and partnered with China Eastern, is currently awaiting regulatory approval.

“China Eastern is comfortable that we'll get the approvals -- but we obviously don't take it for granted . . . but we've done that multiple times now and Hong Kong is going to be no different.”

In other Qantas news, the airline’s A380 that underwent some of the most expensive aviation repairs has returned to service in Australia.